Blurb

In cloud-covered Estalia, the last bastion of civilisation in a freezing world, a lone boatman continues a listless journey across the waterways.

Marquos, a scavenger who baulks at responsibility, is heading north to the Deadland, where they say lava flows from the mountains and the sky is clear. If he can map this inhospitable land, he can return to the Metropolis with his head high and make amends for his time spent with the Mine Guard.

A kidnapped child on his boat and convicted rebels loose on the canal quickly complicate his carefree life. He has to adapt quickly if he is to survive being drawn into a war he never realised existed. His journey of Deadland discovery becomes one that could change the world, as Maruqos stumbles upon the secrets of Professor Rosenbaut, his destructive weapons and the long-forgotten history of Estalia.

***My Book Review***

DISCLAIMER: This book/eBook being reviewed was provided free of charge for an honest review.

Here is book 6 for my Dystopia Reading Challenge of 2013. It’s called Wixon’s Day and is written by Phil Williams. First off, let me say it was really nice to read a dystopian novel written from the male perspective and also from an adult viewpoint. While I have loved all the books to date that have been YA, this was a refreshing change.

This novel starts with a boat ride. The main character, Marquos, has a stolen child called Red on board – but it’s not what you think. While he is a lone man with a small child, he is attempting to return her to her parents after she was stolen by the authorities and placed in the Mines to work. It seems children are the new workforce in this dystopian world.

This story meanders along like the very river that Marquos and Red are travelling on. For most of this book, I felt like I was drifting along with them on the water. The mood set by the author is just epic. It was almost a surreal feeling to read a book like this and I am finding it hard to put into words just how strange and awesome this journey was. If you are looking for action from the very go get, then this book will not provide that, however, what is does give the reader is something so much richer.

Right from the start, Williams takes you on a journey. You have no idea who you are travelling with, or where you are going, yet there is a peace in knowing that the answers will be slowly revealed.

While I fell in love with many of the descriptives in this book, there were times when they became too much and I found myself drifting away from the story. I also found that in the middle of this book, the pace became too slow and I really had to push myself to keep going. It is well worth the effort though.

The main character, Marquos, is neither young nor amazingly handsome – and for this I am relieved. All the characters in this book are just people. Merely the average joe trying to survive in a world that is now tainted with destruction and ruled with an iron fist. I couldn’t get enough of reading about him and trying to work him out. While he does things that are wrong and at times downright illegal, he does them for all the right reasons. He is a man of moral standing, even if he must break the rules to do the right thing.

In a nutshell, this is the simple story of a man. It also tells us the simple truth of war and human nature. This is the basic tenet of dystopia – the fact that human nature is happiest when at war because there is something to fight for, a purpose to living. Wixon’s Day is a fantastic example of this tenet and I am glad I was given the opportunity to read this book.